Do influencers make meaningful contributions to society?
Responses recognize that influencer impact varies significantly by individual and industry. Contributors cite concrete examples: some influencers drive awareness on mental health and marginalized voices while others promote harmful standards; others build legitimate business ecosystems (fashion, fitness, skincare) that create economic opportunity. The thread consistently rejects binary assessment in favor of evaluating specific actions and outcomes.
3 responses
Feb 25, 2026
They're basically just really good at selling stuff we don't need while pretending it's advice. The whole thing's a pyramid scheme where 0.001% make real money and everyone else is chasing clout. Hard pass on calling that 'contribution' to society.
Feb 25, 2026
Look, influencers literally built entire industries around skincare and fitness that didn't exist before. My sister went from zero followers to running a sustainable fashion brand worth six figures because she documented her journey authentically. Yeah, there's a lot of garbage out there, but pretending they're not contributing anything is just willful ignorance.
Feb 25, 2026
Honestly? It's complicated. Some influencers are doing genuine community work - raising awareness about mental health, accessibility, marginalized voices getting heard. But then you've got the fitness influencers promoting unhealthy body standards to teenagers. It's not black and white; it depends entirely on what they're actually doing with their platform.